LEGO® WeDo Construction Set

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A LEGO WeDo robot being used with Scratch.

The LEGO® WeDo Construction Kit is a simple robotics tool designed for ages 7–11. It allows users to design their own interactive machines, and then program them using drag-and-drop software like Scratch.

As of October 2016, there are two versions of the LEGO® WeDo: 1.0 and 2.0. The main difference between the LEGO® WeDo 1.0 and LEGO® WeDo 2.0 is that the 2.0 version connects over Bluetooth to Scratch.

In Scratch 2.0, one can add a LEGO WeDo extension (1.0 or 2.0) within the "More Blocks" category. Click "Add an Extension" and choose "LEGO WeDo 1.0" or "LEGO WeDo 2.0". There is no need to install any Lego software; Scratch and its extension feature is all one needs.[1]

LEGO WeDo Parts

These are LEGO Power Function lights that are not included in the WeDo kit, but can still be connected to the WeDo hub and controlled using Scratch.

Distance sensor

Interact by moving closer and further from this sensor.

Tilt sensor

Interact by tilting this sensor.

Hub

Used to connect the WeDo parts to a computer.

LEGO WeDo with Scratch 2.0

The LEGO WeDo Construction Kit can be used with the online editor of Scratch 2.0 by adding an extension. The LEGO WeDo extension can be added within the "More Blocks" category. Click "Add an Extension" and choose "LEGO WeDo."

A plugin is needed to use any hardware extension. Once the LEGO WeDo extension has been added, the Tips window will open and give the link to the Extensions installation instructions.

There is more information about the LEGO WeDo, including sample projects and more detailed instructions on setup, on Scratch here.

There are three options for the direction, listed as "this way", "that way", and "reverse". The first two are equivalent to clockwise and counter-clockwise. Reverse switches the direction.

All motor blocks have a menu that allows control over two WeDo motors and lights separately. If only one motor is available, use the "motor" option, which will control the motor regardless of where it is connected on the WeDo hub. If two motors are available but need to be controlled separately, "motor A" can be used with one and "motor B" with the other. "light" controls the lights regardless of where they are connected on the WeDo hub. "everything" controls all connected motors and lights.

LEGO WeDo with Scratch 1.4

The Motor blocks in 1.4.

To show the blocks to control the LEGO WeDo motors, click "Show Motor Blocks" in the Edit tab. They can be then found below within the Motion palette. Unlike the LEGO WeDo extension in Scratch 2.0, Motor Blocks cannot control two WeDo motors separately. Running a motor block will affect all the connected motors.

To report the values of the LEGO WeDo sensors, use the sensor value block which can be found in the Sensing palette.